Shock and sadness swept through football and beyond following the sudden death of Gary Speed, the 42-year-old manager of the Wales national team.

The body of the married father of two was found at his home on the outskirts of Chester on Sunday morning by police who were called at 7.08am. The Cheshire constabulary said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

There were widespread but unconfirmed reports that he had killed himself. A police spokeswoman said Speed's family wanted to be "left in peace to grieve at this difficult time".

Just hours earlier the former Leeds United and Newcastle United midfielder had appeared as a guest on BBC One's Football Focus where he appeared in buoyant mood.

The presenter, Dan Walker, said that off-camera at the BBC's studios in Salford Speed had talked enthusiastically about how well his sons were developing as teenage footballers and his desire to come back on the show before Christmas. He also recorded a separate interview about his high hopes for Wales' forthcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.

"He was perhaps in the best mood I had seen him in yesterday, he was very bubbly," Walker said.

David Cameron was "deeply saddened" by the news, a spokesman for the prime minister said. "The prime minister's thoughts are with his family and friends on this very sad day for fans everywhere, especially in Wales," he added.

There were emotional scenes in south Wales as four of Speed's Welsh players took to the pitch in Swansea's home games against Aston Villa just an hour and a half after the news of his death had broken. The teams wore black armbands and gathered around the centre circle for one minute's silence before kick-off. After just a few seconds applause broke out around the ground followed by echoing chants of "there's only one Gary Speed".

Shay Given, the Aston Villa goalkeeper who played with Speed at Newcastle, wiped tears from his cheeks and crossed himself three times.

"Three of our lads [James] Collins, Given and [Jermaine] Jenas are very upset," said the Aston Villa manager, Alex McLeish, before an understandably flat game which ended 0-0. "We would have fully understood if Swansea wanted to call the game off."

There was also a minute's silence at Anfield ahead of Liverpool's fixture with Manchester City. The pause also marked the death from leukaemia of the five-year-old son of Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones. The Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, who signed Speed when he was in charge at Newcastle, decided that Craig Bellamy, the Liverpool and Wales striker, was too upset to play.

"There is no way a game of football is more important than grieving," he said.

Former Wales international Robbie Savage was close to tears when he appeared on BBC News and told how he had joked on the phone with Speed on Saturday morning. "He was in high spirits, I can't believe it," said Savage. "He has left two gorgeous kids behind and a beautiful wife. He had everything … He was laughing and joking."

Speed was born in Flintshire and although a talented schoolboy cricketer, he signed for Leeds in 1988 and made his debut at 19, becoming a rugged and determined mainstay of the top-flight football. He was part of the side that won the title in 1992 and he went on to captain Everton and then joined Newcastle for six seasons where he played alongside Alan Shearer.

His manager at Newcastle, the late Bobby Robson, described him as "brave as a lion". Howard Wilkinson, Speed's manager at Leeds, praised him as "an ordinary, very honest, very genuine, very committed and hard-working bloke".

The flags at Leeds United's Elland Road ground were lowered to half-mast and fans laid tributes of shirts and scarves. The club said it was "stunned and saddened".

Speed won 85 caps for Wales, captained his country and played 535 times in the Premier League, including for Bolton, before finishing his playing career at Sheffield United and going on to manage his country for the last 10 months of his life. He was awarded an MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to football.

The Football Association of Wales said: "That this tragedy should have overtaken someone so young and talented is a huge loss not only for his family and friends but a nation as a whole."

Carwyn Jones, the first minister of Wales, who had met Speed a few weeks ago to talk about developing new Welsh football talent, described Speed's death as "an incredible blow not just for football, but for Wales". He added: "Everybody is very, very stunned by the news. The first thing we do is think about his family and what they must be feeling. His legacy will be, possibly, the best Wales football team we have ever seen."

Gary Neville, the former Manchester United and England defender who often played against Speed, said: "We think, sometimes, of football being important, but it's not really."

Prime Premiership player

Gary Speed was one of the defining figures of the Premiership era. The Flintshire-born player began his top-flight career in the Leeds United midfield featuring Gordon Strachan, David Batty and Gary McCallister that powered the team to the 1992 title. He stayed with the club for 312 games, scoring 57 goals, before moving to Everton in 1996 for two seasons. Kenny Dalglish signed him for Newcastle where his direct, energetic style helped the north-east club to two FA cup finals and a place in the Champions League. After a move to Bolton he became the first player to reach 500 Premier League tappearances. He was briefly manager of Sheffield United in late 2010 before taking charge of Wales, the country he played for 85 times and captained in a 14-year international career. His first match was a 3-0 defeat of the Republic of Ireland and he won five out of his 10 games, turning the team's fortunes around and filling stadiums again. On 12 November, Wales beat Norway 4-1.